On Feb. 10-11, the University of Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will bring master sofer (scribe) Rabbi Gedaliah Druin to campus to resume work on the restoration of its 200-year-old Torah scroll.
The scroll was donated anonymously; the center’s Beth Alpert Nakhai, Ph.D., acquired it in 2009. The scroll is thought to be nearly 200 years old, originally used by a European Sephardic Jewish community, perhaps from northern Italy. It survived World War II, travelled to Israel and eventually to Tucson, and is the only Torah owned by the UA.
Druin’s work will build on that of Rabbi Yochanan Salazar, who spent a day last February working on the restoration. Druin will be at the UA Hillel Foundation, 1245 E. 2nd St., working on the Torah from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 10 and 11. Members of the local and UA communities are invited to observe the process.
Druin will speak informally about Torah scrolls and their restoration on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 12:30 p.m. and on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at noon.
For more information, contact John Winchester at 626-5759 or jwinches@email.arizona.edu.
